Transduction inMycobacterium phlei

Transduction, the transfer of genetic information from one bacterial host to another by bacteriophage, has been demonstrated inMycobacterium phlei. The ability to utilized-xylose as a sole carbon source could be transferred fromM. phlei strain SN109 (xyl ⁺,str-s) toM. phlei strain F89 (xyl ⁻,str-r) by a bacterially sterile, DNase-treated phage Bo2-lysate of donorM. phlei SN109. The marker was expressed within 15 minutes of phage infection, but the recipient bacteria had to be in early stationary phase for transduction to occur. Controls employed in these experiments were bacteria incubated with heat-killed phage, with phage plus antiphage serum, or with sterile broth in place of phage. Phage conversion, the appearance of a new character due solely to phage infection, could not account for the observed phenomenon since phage Bo2, which was not previously propagated on axyl ⁺ donor, failed to confer the ability to utilize xylose on axyl ⁻ repicient. High frequency transduction (HFT) also could be demonstrated by using phage lysates obtained fromxyl ⁺ transductants. This work was presented in part at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Minneapolis, 2–8 May, 1971. Submitted by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Ph.D. degree at the Department of Microbiology, Loyola University — Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois.